“Despite the many factors that may contribute to rates of gun violence in a particular community, there is a robust and growing body of research that demonstrates an undeniable correlation between certain strong gun laws and lower rates of gun violence. A 2013 study by a group of public health researchers examined the relationship between the overall strength of a state’s gun laws and rates of gun deaths in the state and found that states with stronger gun laws had lower rates of gun deaths than states with weaker gun laws.”

“An estimated 4.5 million women in the U.S. have been bullied or coerced with a firearm by an intimate partner. Another 1 million have survived a gunshot wound or been shot at. Those are the central findings of the first systematic review on the nonfatal use of firearms in domestic violence.” #DomesticViolenceAwarenessMonth

"An American woman is shot and killed by her partner every 16 hours. But guns don’t just kill women; they’re also often used to scare and control them. A new study from University of Pennsylvania, reported in the Trace yesterday, estimates that 4.5 million women have been bullied or coerced with a firearm by an intimate partner."

“After a spate of gun violence involving young people broke out in his "great small town" of Kinston, North Carolina in 2014, ABC reports that Chris didn't sit back, but instead jumped to action.

“Kinston Teens has helped more than 1,000 teens in two years by engaging them in their community rather than gangs. The organization has mentorship programs, community service projects like street cleaning, and even leadership summits.

“Chris has certainly given teens a seat at the table. In fact, just last week, he was appointed by Governor Pat McCrory as the youngest member of the Governor's Crime Commission.”

“The statistics are bleak. Suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the U.S. From ages 10 to 34, it is the second leading cause. Last year, at least 40,000 people in the U.S. died by suicide. From 1999 to 2014, the suicide rate for men and women jumped 24 percent.

“A firearm is used in a small minority of all attempts, but because guns are incredibly lethal, they are responsible for more than half of all suicide deaths.”

“The National Shooting Sports Foundation, the gun industry’s top trade group, is partnering for the first time with the country’s leading suicide prevention organization. The ambitious goal of the collaboration: averting nearly 10,000 deaths over the next decade.

“’This isn’t giving up the firearm forever. It’s during that crisis,” Gebbia tells The Trace. “This is not a Second Amendment issue. It’s a way to make sure that people at risk of suicide shouldn’t have access to any of the means,’ he says.

“More than half of all suicides in the U.S. are carried out with a firearm. Bullets are exceptionally lethal: In 2014, about 87 percent of gun suicide attempts were fatal, compared to just three percent of attempts by drug overdoses, according to an analysis of Centers for Disease Control data.”